New York Yankees Left Fielder Brett Gardner was robbed! He was robbed by opposing managers and coaches. The Gold Glove Awards are given out each year in Major League Baseball after the season has ended. It is voted on by managers and coaches of all 30 MLB teams to award the best fielders position by position in both the National and American Leagues. This season, the American League Gold Glove award for Left Field was given to Kansas City Leftfielder, Alex Gordon. Gordon had a fine season defensively and took major steps forward and excelled at his new position after moving from the infield. But, Gardner’s season was not just better, it was significantly better. There are a few major categories fielders are judged with. First, Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) which quantifies how many runs the fielder saved or gave up as a result of his defensive play.Gardner’s UZR was 25.2 and Gordon’s was 10.5. Meaning thatGardner’s defensive play in left field saved nearly 15 more runs than Gordon’s did. Another stat used is range (RngR) it measures how many baseballs they can get to at their position.Gardner’s RngR was 23.4 while Gordon’s was -2.1. Yes, Gordon has a negative or below average range! Both players had similar statistics based on how well they stopped runners from advancing with their arm.

Brett Gardner had better defensive statistics in almost every advanced fielding category but did not win the Gold Glove award. But to me and to any baseball fans who have studied the numbers, his glove will always be golden even if the record book says otherwise.

-Jaime Eisner-

                                                          ( I do not own any rights to this photo)